The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
by XxSephFanxX
Summary: To be frank, Sephiroth hated the snow. And he sure wasn't going to shovel it himself. But it's not like there's any harm in hiring someone to do it for him, right? SephxCloud.


**Hi, everyone! ^^**

**Here's one of those SephxCloud fics I've been promising for months. Sorry for the wait! DX I started writing this forever ago, back when it was actually snowing =P**

**Well, this is kinda-sorta SephxCloud. You'll just have to read and see =P**

**DISCLAIMER: I still don't own FFVII. **

**WARNING: Angeal OOC, like usual. And..... that's it.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**The Most Wonderful Time of the Year**

Sephiroth peered out the window, a disgusted look on his face.

It was _snowing_.

And not just in little flurries – it was almost a full-blown blizzard out there. Roads, sidewalks, cars, and pretty much everything in sight were covered in a heavy blanket of the stuff. Well, as far as Sephiroth could see, at least – the falling snow was so thick that he had trouble even making out the house across the street, which was painted a flamboyant blue color. Those were some big-ass snowflakes falling, for sure.

The silver-haired man sighed as he watched the snow cover his small neighborhood. The weatherman's voice from the television carried over into the other room, and Sephiroth listened distastefully as the reporter excitedly chattered about the 16 inches of snow already on the ground. There hadn't been a single snowflake in the air when he had gone up to bed the night before, so the fact that much snow had fallen overnight was completely insane. What the hell was _wrong_ with the weather? This wasn't Nibelheim, for god's sake. And, of course, to make things even more pleasant, there was another foot or so on the way. By the end of the following weekend, the snow was supposed to accumulate to an unprecedented _30 inches_ in the Midgar region. The very thought made Sephiroth scowl at the falling snowflakes in disgust. It looked like he would be stuck inside for a few days – there was no way in _hell_ he was stepping foot in the knee-deep icy grossness outside. Good thing it was Saturday.

To say Sephiroth hated snow would be a severe understatement. He _loathed_ the snow. In his opinion, it was an appalling abomination of nature, right next to phone solicitors and ketchup on eggs. But snow was the absolute _worst_. He saw the ungodly mess as a cruel punishment from Mother Nature; as if the freezing temperatures and bleak days of winter weren't enough, snow had to be thrown in with the mix during the worst season of the year. If nothing else, it was just plain fucked up.

Sephiroth's attention shifted to a group of children sledding next door, laughing and having a grand old time. Who in their right mind would want to be out in this weather? It was cold, wet and absolutely miserable outside. Smart people, such as himself, stayed indoors during these drab, listless days, where they could relax with a mug of hot chocolate and marshmallows, wrapped up in a blanket next to a cozy, crackling fireplace. They weren't freezing their asses off outside in the name of having "fun." Surely, trudging around in slush with wind whipping in your face couldn't seriously be enjoyable.

As a child, Sephiroth had never played in the snow, nor ever possessed a desire to do so. Seeing as he had grown up in the labs, though, a chance had rarely ever presented itself anyway. During the winter, while other children built snowmen and made snow angels outside without a care in the world, Sephiroth would watch from the tiny window in his room, wondering what was wrong with them. _He _wasn't the freak of nature, it was _them_ - why on earth did they want to play in that frozen mess?

Besides it being too wet and disgusting for him, snow reminded Sephiroth all too well of his childhood. Snow took all of the color out of the world and left it in dull shades of white and gray, just like the lab he'd spent most of his life in. But as the years passed by and he was free to live on his own, he'd let go of his unpleasant childhood and decided it was time to move on. Still, having wet, slushy reminders of the past fall from the sky was not at all appealing to him.

As he watched the snow pile up on his walkway, he realized with distaste that he'd have to get that cleaned up sooner or later. He'd never shoveled snow in his life – he'd been living in an apartment for years before, which had required zero shoveling on his part. And when he'd moved into his current house, Genesis had been there to take care of the snow, aware of the other man's extreme hatred of winter. But his former lover had left over a month ago, and Sephiroth was now alone to deal with the wintery mess.

But he wasn't going to shovel it himself, of course.

He turned away from the window and headed to his kitchen table, where the mail from yesterday lay untouched. He thought he had remembered seeing a flyer for snow shoveling service in there somewhere. As he leafed through yesterday's bills and magazines, a neon yellow flyer caught his attention. He unfolded the paper and read it over carefully as he reached for the phone.

Why bother subjecting himself to the repulsive job of shoveling snow when he could easily pay someone to do it for him?

* * *

A half-hour later the doorbell rang, startling Sephiroth, who was heavily absorbed in a book. Reluctant to leave his cozy chair by the pleasantly warm fireplace, he set down his steaming mug of hot chocolatey goodness, threw off his flannel blanket and trudged over to the door.

A bright-eyed boy with a shovel stood on his front step, a shy smile on his face.

"Good morning, Mr. Sephiroth," he greeted the older man cheerfully, pulling his oversized blue scarf down past his chin in order to speak clearly. "I'm Cloud Strife. It's nice to meet you."

"Good morning," the General replied, even though it hardly was. He folded his arms to keep warm as the chilly outside air engulfed him. The younger male was bundled up in heavy layers for the harsh weather, but Sephiroth could still tell he had a skinny frame. He didn't look like someone cut out for shoveling the heavy snow. But the General sure as hell wasn't going to go out there and do it, so he was going to have to take whatever help he could get. "Thank you for coming."

"My pleasure," Cloud gave a polite smile. "Where would you like me to begin?" He asked, brushing away stray spikes of blond hair that peeked out from under his hat. There was no doubt that this boy was from Nibelheim, Sephiroth realized. Those people were _built_ for this weather, seeing as their tiny town was continuously walloped with blizzards and all sorts of nasty weather conditions throughout the year. Now it made sense why the boy had willingly offered to shovel people's driveways in this horrendous weather. Sephiroth wondered what a young Nibelheim boy was doing shoveling snow in Midgar anyway, but wasn't curious enough to ask.

"You can start anywhere you'd like," he answered the younger male. "As long as it all gets cleaned up."

"Of course, sir," Cloud replied. "I'll get started right away."

Sephiroth nodded appreciatively at the blond before heading back inside the warm comforts of his cozy little home, leaving Cloud to do his job outside.

As the General treated himself to a luxurious day of lounging by the fireplace and catching up on his reading, he would peer out of his window every now and then to check on the little blond's progress. Gaia, was that kid a snow shoveling machine. He'd finished the front walk in less than a half hour, which was pretty damn fast, considering the crapload of snow out there. Cloud was currently working on the driveway, and he'd gotten a fairly decent chunk of it done. Sephiroth settled back down in his chair, making a mental note to save the blond's flyer. If, heaven forbid, it snowed again during the season (which it probably would, Sephiroth realized miserably), he would definitely need the Nibelheim boy's service again.

Suddenly the General's cell phone buzzed on the table next to him, and he picked it up to find a cheerful Zack on the other end.

"Mornin'," Zack sang into the receiver.

Sephiroth sighed. "What do you want, Zack?" The dark-haired man never called out of the blue like this unless he needed something.

"I was just wondering if my buddy Cloud was at your place yet," Zack replied innocently.

"Yes, he's here," the General told him, unsure of what Zack was getting at. "He's doing a great job."

"Really? That's good," the other man sounded somewhat distracted, and Sephiroth heard the sounds of him rummaging through something in the background. "Y'know, when he's done, you should, uh, invite him in for hot chocolate. It's a Nibelheim custom."

Sephiroth paused. "Is that so?" Rarely did the General take anything coming out of Zack's mouth to have an ounce of truth to it.

"Yep. They do that up in Nibelheim as a show of gratitude. You don't want to offend the poor boy, do you?" Zack asked, and Sephiroth could almost hear the pout on the man's face in his voice.

"No," Sephiroth answered softly, glancing back out at the hardworking little blond on his driveway.

"Well, there you go." Zack replied. Then he paused for a moment. "By the way, do you happen to have any gasoline I could use? My snowblower's all out."

"I think I might have some in my garage," Sephiroth answered, reluctantly pushing himself up from his chair to go check.

"No you don't," Zack told him. "Unless it's behind this giant…. _AAGGHH! What the f-"_

A loud crash echoed throughout Sephiroth's house, followed by a loud string of profanities. Irritated, the General marched down the hallway and flung open the door to his garage to find Zack on the floor, swearing under his breath as he nursed an injured foot, and a mess of wrenches and screwdrivers scattered all around him.

"Your toolbox is too damn heavy," he complained to Sephiroth, slowly getting to his feet.

The General pressed a hand to his forehead in agitation. "What are you _doing _here_?" _

Zack looked up at the other man, a confused look on his face. "I _told_ you," he began, but it sounded more like 'duh.' "I need gas for my snowblower," he replied as he haphazardly threw Sephiroth's tools back into their box. "Do you have any, or what? 'Cause it's not in here."

The silver-haired man crossed his arms. "So you decided to just break into my garage and look for it yourself?"

"I didn't want to bother you," Zack answered sheepishly, giving his signature sad puppy look. Sephiroth wasn't affected by it in the slightest.

The General rolled his eyes. "Well, it's too late now, isn't it?" Then he paused. "How did you even get in here? I don't remember ever trusting you enough to give you the code to my garage door."

Zack cracked a grin. "1-2-3-4 isn't exactly the hardest password to figure out."

Sephiroth groaned. He'd been meaning to change Genesis's idiotic password. "If I give you the gasoline, will you leave?"

The dark-haired man snapped into a salute. "Yes sir, your General-ness."

"There's some in the basement," Sephiroth sighed, growing weary of the other's energetic mood. Zack stepped forward to enter the house, but the other man shooed him back. "Are you clearing the snow yourself?" The General asked, wondering if he might be waiting for Cloud to finish up at his house. Not that he cared, of course. Out on the driveway, completely oblivious to the fiasco currently taking place in the garage, the blond was diligently working to dig Sephiroth's car out.

"Yep," the other man smirked. "'Cause Aerith won't do it, so I just have to _man up_ and clear the snow _all by myself-"_ but Sephiroth slammed the door shut in his face before Zack could finish teasing him.

"Awww, Seph," Zack called from the garage, not taking the hint to leave. "Don't be like that!"

"Go _home_, Zack," Sephiroth snapped, fed up with the dark-haired man. A few moments later, he heard the garage door go down and watched Zack trudge up the sidewalk back to his own house. Satisfied, he headed back to his chair and took another sip of hot chocolate. The General had three jugs of gasoline in the basement, and Zack would be getting zilch.

Remembering the little blond hard at work on his driveway, Sephiroth glanced up at the clock and then out his window. The boy had been there for almost an hour already, and he'd gotten a sizable piece of the work done. From what Sephiroth could tell, the driveway was almost cleared off completely. All that was left to be done was the sidewalk, and then Cloud would be finished.

_That kid can work, _the General thought to himself as he settled back in his chair. He was mulling over Zack's words from earlier, about inviting the boy in for hot chocolate. To be honest, it sounded like a bunch of bullshit - especially since it had come from Zack, who did not have a reputation for being truthful. But he also didn't want to offend the freakishly fast-working blond outside, considering he would probably need his help again during the rest of the winter that had yet to come.

Sephiroth sighed as he looked up at the dreary gray sky. If he hadn't gotten into the military, he would have moved to wonderful tropics of Costa del Sol and lived out his days in the pleasantly warm weather that rarely went below 60 degrees. He could be wearing T-shirts and sandals year round. But no, he was obligated to live in the land of whacked-out, bipolar weather, otherwise known as Midgar. It sometimes seemed as if all the worst possible weather conditions were mixed together in a great big pot in the sky and then dumped out all over the unfortunate region.

As he looked down at the street, he realized that his garbage can was still by the curb. The snow plows hadn't come through yet; if he waited any longer to move the can, it would probably get crushed by the heavy plows. And he didn't need that happening again.

He reluctantly threw on a coat and his boots and trudged outside to retrieve the garbage can. As he began his walk down the driveway, he couldn't believe what he was seeing – Cloud had cleared the entire thing off already, and was hard at work on the sidewalk. Putting boots on had been entirely unnecessary, Sephiroth realized – there wasn't an inch of snow anywhere on the pavement. Damn, that kid was _good_.

As the Silver General made his way down to the curb, he noticed several of his neighbors outside, some staring longingly at his house, admiring the perfectly cleared off driveway, while others shot looks of pure jealousy at his property. Sephiroth tried not to make eye contact with the envious neighbors.

"Yo, Seph!" Angeal was on his own driveway shoveling the snow, and was nearly finished. He crossed the street and stood in front of the silver haired man, beaming. "Did that kid shovel all of this for you?" he asked in disbelief, pointing to the little blond on the sidewalk. "I could've used him a few hours ago. This snow is fuckin' crazy." He shook his head. "Where'd you find him, anyway?"

"I got his flyer in the mail yesterday," Sephiroth answered as he dragged his garbage can out of the street.

"Huh. I never got one," Angeal replied, scratching his head. "And neither did anyone else on the street. I heard them all bitchin' about it earlier, how no one was offering to shovel snow this year."

"That's odd," Sephiroth remarked, looking back at Cloud. "Maybe he forgot?"

"He forgot a whole street, except for your house? That's kinda weird." Angeal raised an eyebrow. Then his eyes widened. "Wait… isn't that Zack's friend? … _oh."_ His voice trailed off, and then he shifted uncomfortably.

"Yeah, Zack mentioned he knew him," Sephiroth answered, confused by the other man's behavior. "He told me I was supposed to invite the boy in for hot chocolate when he's finished. Apparently it's a Nibelheim custom. Do you know if that's true?" The General asked, aware that Angeal had had his fair amount of missions up in Nibelheim. He probably would know if Zack was fibbing or not.

Angeal made an indecipherable face, breaking eye contact with the other man for a moment. "Yeah, that's true. It's a real important custom up there. You should, um, definitely do that." Then he turned back to look at Cloud. "Especially since he's working so hard."

"I will, then." Sephiroth replied, glancing over at Cloud. Apparently, Zack could be truthful every once in a while.

"Good. That'll mean a lot to him. I, uh, I gotta go." Angeal turned around quickly and headed back to his house. "See ya Monday."

Sephiroth watched as Angeal hurried back up his own driveway, confused by the man's odd actions. What was that all about?

As the General wheeled his garbage can up the driveway, he thought the situation over. Something just seemed… _off_ about the whole thing. How come he had been the only one to receive the blond's flyer? And why had Angeal been acting so strange?

He looked back over his shoulder at the little blond again. As if sensing the other man's gaze, Cloud glanced up at the General and gave a friendly smile before continuing his work.

Although he wasn't exactly sure what it was, Sephiroth knew there was something going down, and he wanted to know what. And it may have just been his imagination, but he could have _sworn_ Angeal had been laughing as he walked back across the street.

* * *

"Whaddaya _mean_ Seph's getting suspicious?!?"

"Jesus, Zack. Calm down," Angeal held the phone away from himself as Zack yelled into his ear. "And I said he _might_ be suspicious. I'm sorry, man. I forgot about your whole plan."

Zack sighed in exasperation. "It's okay, as long as everything works out for Cloud in the end."

Angeal smirked. "At least Seph'll be inviting him in for hot chocolate. Since it's a Nibelheim custom and all."

Zack was in stitches. "He actually _bought_ that? God, he's so gullible. I can't believe you convinced him."

"I can't believe you even_ thought_ of that," Angeal replied, grinning. "I almost cracked up when he asked me if it was true. But he totally fell for it." The two men's laughter died down after a few minutes, followed by brief silence.

"By the way, do you have any gasoline? My snowblower's all out."

* * *

Sephiroth was currently in his kitchen, whipping up another pot of hot chocolate. Nibelheim custom or not, anyone who worked that hard definitely deserved a treat like that. As the milk was heated up on the stove, he checked the time. Cloud had been there for almost an hour and a half, and he was almost completely done. The General didn't know of anyone else who could shovel snow at such an alarming speed.

As Sephiroth glanced out the window, his face immediately fell. Zack was on his lawn for some reason, flopping down in the snow and waving his arms and legs around in a crazed manner. He looked absolutely _ridiculous_. Thoroughly annoyed, Sephiroth marched over to his window and hoisted the frame up.

"Zack! What the hell are you doing?" the General growled at the man currently rolling around like a maniac on his front lawn.

Zack looked up and waved merrily. "Snow angels!" He shouted back, grinning. "It's fun! Wanna try?"

"No, I don't," Sephiroth frowned. "Stop defacing my property."

"But I'm decorating your lawn for you!" The dark haired man protested. "Want me to make you a snowman, too? I'll go get a scarf and a carrot and some sticks and-"

"No!" Sephiroth shouted back, scowling. "I thought I told you to go home."

"You're so mean, Seph," Zack sulked. "Hey, you wanna go sledding? There's this great hill down by-" But Sephiroth slammed the window shut before the man could finish. Zack was one of the most exhausting people on the planet. The General sighed, rubbing his forehead. The last thing he wanted was Zack "decorating" his lawn – the man's snow angels left much to be desired.

Sephiroth made his way back over to the stove and resumed the task of heating up the hot chocolate. As he dug around in his cabinets for a new bag of marshmallows, the doorbell rang suddenly. Sephiroth was in shock - there was no way in _hell_ that kid was finished already.

"Everything's all finished, sir." Cloud answered cheerfully as Sephiroth opened the front door. "Would you like to come out and see?"

"Sure," the General replied, even though he had a feeling everything had been shoveled to perfection. And sure enough, it was. As Cloud led the older man down the freshly cleared-off walkway and down to the driveway, Sephiroth was impressed by the blond's hard work. Genesis hadn't been the best snow shoveler in the world, but he had gotten the job done. But Cloud had scraped up all traces of snow on the pavement so that it didn't even look like it had snowed there. The General's car had also been completely cleared off, down to the tiny spaces between the windshield wipers. Cloud had even dug a neat little path through the grass from the basement door to the driveway, for easy access. If there was any such thing as a professional snow shoveler, Cloud would definitely fit the bill.

"Oh, and I got rid of the icicles above the doors," Cloud pointed out as he explained his work. "They were pretty nasty looking. Where I'm from, those things can literally kill people." Sephiroth shuddered at the thought of leaving his house one morning and getting speared by a 3-foot-long icicle. Being a military general, there were many different honorable ways he could be killed, and that was definitely not one of them.

"This is very impressive," Sephiroth told Cloud after he was finished surveying the driveway. "Thank you for all your hard work."

"It's my pleasure, sir," the boy responded with a smile. His cheeks had turned a rosy pink color from the wind outside.

The General shifted his weight to his left leg, an unconscious habit of his whenever he was thinking something over. "Could I invite you in for hot chocolate?" He asked, returning his gaze to Cloud.

The blond's eyes bulged, and he paused for a moment. "R-really?"

Sephiroth was a bit confused by the boy's behavior. But he figured Cloud was just surprised that a Midgar resident would know of a Nibelheim custom. Where the General lived, people didn't just invite strangers into their home for a drink. Midgar wasn't exactly the friendliest place on the planet. "You don't have to if-"

"No, it's alright. Thank you very much," Cloud answered quickly. "That's very kind of you, sir." Maybe it was just the frigid air outside, but Sephiroth _swore_ the blond's cheeks had gotten pinker.

"Why don't we go inside, then? The hot chocolate should be finished soon." Sephiroth turned around and headed back to the front door, the little blond following behind him. Upon entering the house, both he and Cloud were relieved to be out of the numbing weather. An enticing aroma wafted from the kitchen, lingering in the hallway as if to taunt the two males.

"You can leave your boots and coat out here," Sephiroth instructed as he kicked off his boots and hung his coat up. "I'll get the hot chocolate ready."

"Don't worry about it, Seph – I've already taken care of it!" A cheerful voice called from the kitchen.

Sephiroth stormed down the hallway and into the kitchen to find Zack in front of the stove, holding two mugs of hot chocolate.

Sephiroth nearly rushed over and strangled the man. "What. Are. You. _Doing _here?!" He growled, struggling to control his anger that so badly wanted to wallop Zack in the face. "And how do you keep getting into my house?"

The dark-haired man grinned and dangled a key in front of Sephiroth. "Remember when you and Gen were in Wutai for two months and you wanted me to get your mail for you?"

The General groaned. So _that's _where that extra key had gone. Genesis had had a higher tolerance for Zack than he had; he must have let him keep the key. "Give me that key, and get out of my house and never come back. Or else I'm calling the police and reporting a break-in." If looks could kill, Zack would have been stone-dead by now.

"You're just cranky because of the snow! Oh, hey Cloud – here you go." Zack handed a mug to Cloud, who had finished un-suiting and entered the kitchen, concerned about all the bickering going on. The blond accepted the mug and stood off to the corner, not quite sure what to do.

By this time, Sephiroth was absolutely livid. Before Zack could react, the General had ripped the key from his hands and dragged him to the door, pinning his arms behind his back. "Ow! Seph! You don't need to – I was just about to leave!" But a few moments later, Zack found himself being hurled mercilessly into the snow, and the door slammed shut after him.

When Sephiroth returned to the kitchen, he found Cloud in the same spot where he had been, and the mug of hot chocolate in his hands was still full to the brim. It seemed he had been waiting patiently for the General to return before sipping any of the drink.

"I'm sorry about that," Sephiroth apologized as he entered the kitchen. He was a little embarrassed for losing his cool in front of Cloud like that, but when dealing with Zack, it was hard not to.

"Oh, it's fine, sir." Cloud quickly took his eyes off of a picture frame hanging on the wall. On closer inspection, Sephiroth realized he had left pictures up of when he and Genesis had been together.

"I must have forgotten to take those down," Sephiroth muttered to himself. He made a mental note to take care of that later.

"Is that Commander Rhapsodos?" Cloud asked innocently, peering at the picture to get a better look. "I didn't know he could smile."

"That's him," Sephiroth answered, finding that he wasn't as uncomfortable as he had once been when talking about his ex-boyfriend. "Are you a Cadet at the Academy?"

"Yes, sir," Cloud answered, giving the man a smile. "I'm a first-year."

Sephiroth was a bit surprised – out of all of the assemblies he'd had with the first-years, he couldn't remember ever seeing Cloud. How had he missed the boy? His spiky blonde hair would have made him impossible not to see.

"Would you like to sit down?" Sephiroth asked, motioning to his living room. Cloud had been working his ass off for the last few hours; he was probably dying to get off of his feet.

"Oh, uh, sure," Cloud stammered. "That would be great."

As Sephiroth began making his way towards the living room, he couldn't help but notice that something seemed rather…_strange_ about the Cadet's behavior as he followed behind. Perhaps the blond was just naturally shy, but ever since he had stepped into the house, he'd seemed awkward and uncomfortable. Sephiroth was beginning to consider that inviting him in might not have been the best idea. But how was _he _supposed to have known that? Cloud had seemed friendly and energetic when he'd first arrived this morning. Now it was almost as if he were an entirely different person.

"So, how are your classes going?" Sephiroth decided it would be best to start a conversation with the blond, to fill up the awkward silence that loomed over the both of them. "You're switching classes now, correct?"

"They're going pretty well," Cloud responded after taking a teeny sip of hot chocolate. He was seated in the loveseat opposite the General's chair. But he looked stiff and uncomfortable as he kept his back severely straight, as if afraid to lean back on the couch. "I'm looking forward to Combat Training II."

Sephiroth was a bit surprised; he'd been expecting a one-word answer from the younger male. "It's a great class to take," he responded. Aside from his duties as a military general, he also helped to teach the combat classes at the Academy. Coincidentally, he was pretty sure he was going to be teaching Combat Training II this semester. "Perhaps I'll see you in my class. Although I'm pretty sure… Cloud?"

The General stopped mid-sentence as he looked over at the Cadet, who had a horrified look on his face. "Is something wrong-"

"_I can't take it anymore!"_ Cloud leapt up from his seat and stood in front of Sephiroth, trembling. "I just can't do it! I'm sorry, sir. I'm really, really sorry."

Sephiroth stood up slowly, not quite grasping what exactly was going on. "I'm not sure if I understand."

Cloud took a deep breath. His eyes were still wide and frightened, as if he expected the General to grab him by the collar and toss him out the window or something.

"It-it wasn't my idea at all! It was all Zack!" Cloud burst out, his voice shaking. "I told him not to do it but then he had already stuck the flyer in your mailbox and he didn't tell me and then you called and I didn't know what I should do and then-"

"Wait," Sephiroth interrupted the blond's confession. "Zack made you come over here and shovel snow for me?"

Cloud shifted uncomfortably. "Well, uhm, yeah." He broke eye contact with the silver-haired man.

Judging by the blond's behavior, Sephiroth guessed that there was more to the story than Cloud was letting on. "Why would Zack do this to you?"

Cloud's face flushed, and he was silent for a few moments. "Umm… because, I told him one time that I um, w-wanted to m-meet you, and so he, um… yeah." He stammered, looking as if he were about ready to die from embarrassment.

Sephiroth didn't say anything right away. He was furious at Zack for pulling something like this – he had stepped way, way out of line this time. But he wasn't at all angry with the trembling little Cadet in front of him. He felt genuinely sorry that Cloud had been a victim in Zack's latest scheme. "Cloud, it's alright. I'm not angry with you. It's not your fault that Zack's a-" he quickly substituted a more censored insult than the ones running through his mind, "an idiot."

Cloud breathed a sigh of relief. "I-I'm sorry. But Zack said you hated shoveling snow, and I thought I should at least help you out and-"

"It's fine, Cloud. Don't worry about it." Sephiroth shook his head.

Cloud sank back down onto the couch, clearly worn out by his nerves and the guilt that had been eating him alive for the duration of the morning.

"So you wanted to meet me?" Sephiroth found himself blurting out before he knew what he was even saying. He immediately wished he hadn't; the frazzled blond looked as if he were about to faint.

"Y-yeah. I sort of, uhm, really admire you. You're my, uh, well…." Cloud's voice trailed off, and he paused for a moment. "You're my hero."

Sephiroth was speechless. Sure, he regularly had people he'd never met coming up to him and telling him that they admired him and even confessed their love to him. But somehow, this was entirely different. "Thank you," he said, still stunned. I think that's the best compliment I've heard in a long time."

"I'm sorry, I should leave." Cloud stood up from the couch, and Sephiroth could tell he was fighting back tears. "I'm sorry to have bothered you." He rubbed his eyes and began to head towards the front door.

"You're not bothering me," Sephiroth assured the younger male, taking a few steps towards him.

Cloud turned to face him, a giving the General the most pitiful look he'd ever seen. "I-I'm not?"

"Not at all." Sephiroth gave a warm smile to show that he meant it.

The blond looked about ready to burst into tears. "A-are you sure?"

"I'm sure." Sephiroth patted his shoulder. "It's completely fine. Please don't feel bad." Then he paused for a moment. "Do you still want to leave?" He didn't want to make the blond feel obligated to stay if he didn't want to.

"Well, I…" Cloud thought for a moment, now beginning to calm down. "If you're still alright with having me here…"

"Of course," Sephiroth nodded. "If I didn't, I wouldn't have invited you in."

"O-okay then," Cloud gave a shy smile. "Thank you very much."

"Sure," Sephiroth responded as he and the younger male headed back into the living room. "I was told this is a tradition in Nibelheim."

Cloud stared at him blankly for a few moments. "Did Zack really tell you that?"

Sephiroth sighed. "I had a feeling it wasn't true." Now he knew why Angeal had been acting so weird.

"I think it used to be, but nobody does that anymore." Cloud clarified. "I-I didn't ask Zack to tell you-"

"It's _fine_," Sephiroth cut him off, resisting the temptation to laugh. As weird as it was to admit, the blond's constant apologizing was somewhat…amusing. The General had a feeling that Cloud was one of those people that got regularly picked on and teased at the Academy.

In a way, Sephiroth felt indirectly guilty for the whole incident that had occurred today. If he had just sucked it up and shoveled his own driveway, none of this would have happened. But before he began to feel too guilty, he reminded himself that if Zack hadn't been so impossibly stupid, as he was known to be, then this whole fiasco could have been avoided too. In a way he sort of admired Zack for going to such an extreme in order to help a friend. But, as he usually did, he had taken things way too far yet again.

But, in a weird sort of way, Sephiroth was rather glad it had happened.

* * *

"I can't thank you enough for all of your hard work today. I really appreciate it," The General thanked Cloud as the boy threw on his coat and boots and prepared to leave. Sephiroth had repeatedly offered to pay Cloud for his troubles, but the blond had refused to touch the money.

"You're welcome," Cloud responded, smiling. He stepped out onto the front step, ducking under Sephiroth's arm as he held the door open for the blond against the wind outside.

Even though it was only four in the afternoon, the sky was already beginning to darken. Sephiroth flipped on the outside lights so Cloud would be able to safely navigate his way down the driveway.

"You know, I sort of really admire you too," Sephiroth smirked, remembering Cloud's earlier confession. "It was very brave of you to handle the…_situation_ like you did today. I'm impressed."

Cloud was taken aback. "T-thank you, sir. That means a lot to me." Then he looked awa. "Um, if it's not too much to ask, could you please not tell Zack that I told you all of this?" He asked shyly.

"I won't, don't worry. But on one condition," The General responded, brushing his hair back.

Cloud tilted his head to the side. "Yes, sir?"

Sephiroth smirked again. "You have to come shovel my driveway again the next time it snows."

Cloud grinned. "Then it looks like I'll be here again next weekend."

"Alright, then. Thank you for everything," he thanked the Cadet again.

"Of course, sir. Have a nice evening," Cloud responded as he made his way down the sidewalk, smiling back at the General.

"You too," Sephiroth called to the younger male before closing the door.

After taking the empty mugs to the kitchen to be washed, Sephiroth retreated to his living room and curled up on the recliner chair.

And for the first time in his life, he realized that he would actually be looking forward to having it snow again.

* * *

**Anyone want to see a sequel of this? =P I'm thinking about writing it.... if I finish the millions of other things I'm writing first.**

**Thanks for reading! ^^**


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